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The Human Cure	By : AppleFiend Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 2827 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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The Human Cure

Chapter 4: Kettering

Disclaimer: Rowling owns everything; I am just playing around in this world.

This chapter was partly inspired by The Antler's song "Kettering" from their album Hospice. It's hauntingly beautiful and I incorporated the song into the story, and hope you all enjoy this new chapter. As always, comments and constructive criticism is always welcome.

Hermione Jean Granger, using the directions given to her by Severus Snape, climbed the four flights of steps that led to the flat that he was currently letting. Her message had been frank, and left no details as to whether or not she would take him up on his proposition to help him.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she double-checked her slip of paper before counting the doors that led her to his door. Pausing with a slight hesitation, she softly knocked on his door before she heard footsteps approaching. She knew that he wouldn't ask who was there, and as he opened the door and ushered her in, she still wasn't too sure about her decision.

"Did you have trouble finding this place?" Severus asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Um, no, your directions were just fine. I'm familiar with this area."

"Please, take a seat. Would you like some tea?"

Finding his overt friendliness offsetting, Hermione didn't know what to make of his change in demeanor. Rather than question it, she tried to keep things light.

"Thanks, but I'm fine" she said as she sat down. "Look, I don't want to waste your time with such idle chit chat, but I spoke with my thesis advisor."

"Please tell me you did not talk about my problem!" Severus said, in a tone that was almost snappish.

"Of course not! I would never do such a thing!" Hermione spoke, giving him just as harsh a tone as he gave to her. "Actually, I spoke with my advisor to ask for a break of sorts. I have a lot of work to complete, but I do want to help you with your situation. I can only give you one academic year, and that's a stretch. It would be foolish to expect us to truly get much done with only one semester, so that is the best I can offer. And to be honest, if I didn't have what my parents left to me, I wouldn't be able to afford a year off considering my pay will be severely cut. After that, I must go back to my PhD. work."

"Although I may appear to not appreciate all that you are willing to…pause for my sake, I do appreciate it."

"I have the space for the both of us to work on our research. I don't how you would feel about going to and fro in regards to my flat, but I think my flat would best suit us. I have an extra room that has just been used for storage, and it would be perfect for a doing research and not being too suspicious. You know, you can't just set up a lab anywhere. I can pull some glassware, an old microscope, and a centrifuge from the lab I work in, but they might get a bit curious themselves if you catch my drift."

She was met with silence. It was as if he prepared himself for rejection, but knew not to speak too soon.

"When would you like to begin Miss Granger?"

"I suppose we can start in a day or two. I need to clear up that room. I've managed to wrangle my friend Carla into helping me out, teaching wise, for the last few weeks of the semester, so that will give us a little more time. However, I have some classes that I'm too close to finishing, and I won't give those up."

"It's important to finish what is left of this semester. If I may insist, please call me Severus. We will be colleagues now, so I can only see it appropriate."

"Um, sure. Please call me Hermione." Not knowing what to say, she quickly stood up. "I'm going to head out. Would you like to come by tomorrow then?" She asked, not knowing what direction to go in, conversation wise.

"That would be fine Miss Gra…I mean, Hermione."

"I'd give you directions to my flat, but you seem to know that already." Hermione said with a hint of humor in her voice.

Severus was surprised she didn't interrogate him with question after question about him being a vampire, but he figured she would wait until they were somehow more comfortable with one another. The Hermione Granger he knew would never leave any corner unturned, just as she wouldn't any sentence finished. The diplomat in him knew that she was the one to call all of the shots, even if he was eager to begin their work that very day.

He saw her to the door as she walked out, all the while trying not to get too acquainted with his living space, even if he was well acquainted with hers. He listened to her boots as they walked further away from is door. It was only then that he was able to breathe in a sigh of relief that his only hope to finding a cure agreed to help him out. For the first time in years he believed that maybe he did have a true shot at freedom and he smiled.

XX

The next day, just as the sun was beginning to set, Hermione heard someone knocking on her door. As she allowed Severus in, he heard music coming from the room he assumed would be their workspace.

The room was set up in a fashion similar to how his lab used to be at Hogwarts. A few minor pieces of lab equipment were set up, things that slightly intimidated him the more he looked at them. There was also a purple suede couch pushed in a corner near a small built in fireplace. A radio was placed on a table with a random station playing. This room could have easily been her bedroom, and Severus found it odd that she would use such a room for storage.

"I was able to pull in some favours for the equipment. It is old, hence the reason it was loaned to me, plus, I'm friends with the lab director. However, cauldrons and potions ingredients, that will be your task. I think with your vampire prowling you'll know how to maneuver your way around Diagon Alley without arousing suspicion."

"I'm sure I can manage. I must ask, how were you able to get all of this stuff? It is rather immaculate if I do say so." Severus asked, focusing his attention on the various contraptions that awed and intimidated him at the same time. He was slightly put off by her bossiness, but he figured that she had years of doing that with Potter and Weasley, so it was in her nature to run the show. He wasn't about to stop her. After all, it was she who agreed to help him. He knew when to let bygones be bygones.

"I tied it into the reason I needed time off. I just mentioned that a former professor of mine was in from Berkeley and needed my assistance with a project. Technically, I wasn't lying. As long as I take care of the equipment, I should be fine. Of course, I have full access to the labs at school, but I thought it would be better to bring smaller things over here in order not to deal with any awkward questions. If we would ever need to go there, we could. So, for the sake of protecting my arse with my University, I'll handle all of this if you handle the potions angle of it all."

She noticed him looking at what appeared to be a chalkboard only it was white and hanging on the wall.

"It's a whiteboard. It serves the same purpose as one made for chalk, but it's easier to clean up. I figured it wouldn't hurt to have one in here, just in case."

"I think that could be arranged. How are you with arithimancy formulas?" Severus asked.

"I have my old notes locked up somewhere in my room. I'm sure if I looked over everything again, then my memory will be refreshed."

Severus sat down on the purple sofa before continuing, "Why is it that you've destroyed every other trace of your life at Hogwarts with the exception of your notes?"

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before sitting on a lab stool, she replied, "I guess I couldn't throw away everything. That's all I can say about that." It was then that she took out a few empty vials and removed their stoppers. He knew she would reveal the rest when she was ready, but for now, that conversation wasn't going to go any further.

"I've been doing a bit of research about vampires, hoping that maybe I could find more than was given to me at Hogwarts. Lots of interesting information really, but I suppose you prove the point that vampires somehow evolved from the old folktales." She stated as she walked up to him with a scalpel and an empty vial.

"We should start off by analyzing the properties of your blood." Hermione stated, waiting for him to offer up his hand from which to draw blood. As he raised his right hand, Hermione gently grasped it as she cut a thin line into the heart line of his cold palm with the scalpel. As the blood started to gently seep out, she held the vial to the cut and filled it to the top. Before she could put the stopper in it, she noticed that the wound was already starting to heal. If she wouldn't have a firm grip on the vial, it would have dropped to the floor. Severus, noticing her reaction, missed the contact of her warm skin on his. It wasn't very often that he felt such contact with someone; he didn't realize how much he missed such a thing.

As she walked towards the table and placed the vial with his blood in a holder, she grabbed another empty one and sterilized the blade of the instrument before she cut her hand in a similar fashion. The assault of her blood on his senses made him want to rush to her, but he was able to restrain himself in that moment, thankful that he fed himself before going to her flat. He couldn't help but be curious as to how her blood tasted. Was it warm and heady, or sweet and flowery? If she would of walked out of the room, he would have shamelessly taken a drop from her vial.

Trying to think of something and anything else besides her blood flowing into a vial, he looked out the window to focus on the weather that was London. The radio was a nice distraction, but it wasn't enough. He didn't notice her reach into a kit and pull out a plaster for the wound. He also never noticed that she was watching his every reaction.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking properly. I should have waited until you left to draw my own blood." Hermione spoke as she secured the plaster on her hand.

Not wanting to respond to her apology, he continued with the first statement that popped into his head.

"I take it you will be comparing my blood with yours."

"Yes, I figured that would be the best place to start. I don't know if our blood types will be an hindrance to the research, but we'll figure that stuff out along the way I suppose."

"I guess we'll see."

XX

Over the next few days Severus went by Hermione's flat to drop off more supplies and ingredients he purchased in Diagon Alley. He went by unnoticed thanks to a few charms, but he never stayed around long enough to attract any attention.

While he didn't need a key to enter her flat, Hermione offered him an extra copy, just in case. It was nice being able to enter her place without any suspicion from neighbors, even though he could get away with it if needed be. When he usually stopped by, she wasn't there to greet him or tell him goodbye. She still had a few classes to finish up, and while she tried to devote some time towards her former professor's cause, she couldn't manage it. It took her a few days to get used to the idea of someone being in her flat while she wasn't there, but she knew that Severus would never snoop in stuff that wasn't his business. At least, that's what she wanted to believe.

Still, she could feel his presence in her life. Every morning as she went out for her morning run, she knew he was around. She never brought it up to him when he would come over in the late afternoon to start their work, but she found it somewhat endearing.

Their work almost seemed useless on some nights. Some nights she had even forgotten that he was there. It was ironic that the two shared her apartment every night, but hardly spoke a word to the other. Severus liked it that way, wondering why he never had the opportunity to witness a silent student, and Hermione was too caught up in her work to bother with any thing close to a conversation. The only thing they heard was the radio she had set up in the room. Hermione was keen on listening to just about anything besides pop radio, while Severus preferred stuff more on the side of classical.

While the properties of Severus' blood were indeed different, no matter how she tried to break apart the specific qualities of his blood, it almost seemed impossible. She spent days reviewing over her old arithimancy notes, hoping that her years of not working with the subject was what tripped her up. However, she knew that there was something that wasn't exactly right. She just didn't know what.

As Severus worked with potion ingredients, he would see his former student get frustrated out the corner of his eye. She had the habit of propping her arms on top of her head, one wrist held securely by the other hand when she was in deep thought. With his keen sense of vision he could clearly see the lined scar on her left wrist. Not wanting to break her concentration and frustration, he decided to wait until another time to ask about it.

It was only when she tossed her pen across the room that he looked at her. She walked out of the room, extra force in her steps, and seconds later she reappeared with her trench coat.

"I'm going for a walk."

"How random of you." Severus replied, sarcasm in his voice.

"I can't concentrate anymore, and if I don't get out of this building, I'm going to explode. Besides, it helps me clear my head. Would you like to tag along?"

Looking out the window, Severus could see that the moon was just coming out. While he was in the middle of something, he cast a stasis charm on it and decided it wouldn't hurt to join her.

XX

The night air wasn't too cold considering it was November. The two walked a few blocks in silence until Hermione couldn't take it anymore.

"I find that being in my flat with you hard for the pure fact that I'm afraid to converse with you."

"And here I thought you enjoyed the silence." Severus added.

"I suppose I'm afraid you'll berate any suggestion I may have. You treated me and everyone who wasn't a Slytherin like shite to be brutally honest."

"I did have a role to play Hermione."

"Yes, and you were a damn great actor." She added as they continued to walk.

"I would like to believe that you wouldn't take anyone talking to you as if you were a complete dunderhead, even me."

"You're right. I wouldn't take it at all." Laughing a bit, she continued. "I remember the first class I taught in the States. There was this one guy who was in a remedial chemistry class. I think he thought he could somehow woo me into helping him out, point wise. One day he said something completely stupid, and before I knew it, I told him something that was very much something you would say."

"Do tell…" Severus added, genuinely curious.

"And you were the fastest sperm, Mr. Barnett?"

"That would have been something I would have said…"

"…to Neville. I know."

"It felt good for a few seconds, but then I felt bad. I became the type of instructor I never wanted to become. I became you."

There was a pregnant pause in their conversation as the two continued to walk past various cafes and pubs.

"I know I wasn't the best professor. I suppose ruling with an iron fist does have its drawbacks. I never truly loved the art of instructing though. I was there because it was where I needed to be. My true job was that of staying ahead of the game with Voldemort and Dumbledore."

"I did learn a lot, I mean, I'm working on a PhD in the subject you pretty much taught at Hogwarts. I just think your method was a bit harsh. You can't expect people to truly learn if they are afraid you will criticize every tiny move one makes."

"May I remind you that potions can be very tricky!"

"Pray tell, exactly how tricky can dicing up rat tails be?"

"I suppose you do have a point. The Neville Longbottom's of the world don't have anything to fear anymore then."

"It's just…I would like to hope that we could at least become friends. I feel like you are still a stranger in my flat, and that's why I'm not so chatty. There are things that I am truly curious about given your history, but I don't want to feel as if my curiosity is a huge inconvenience for you."

Severus digested all of what she said as they rounded the block that would take them back to her flat. She did have a point, and while he would have been content with researching in silence, he knew that it was in Hermione's true nature to speak up if something really did strike her fancy.

"I don't want you to fear me. I consider us colleagues, and I do apologize for such stoic indifference on my part. You know I am not an open book. Like you, I too have changed after the war. That is all I can give you, I'm afraid."

"Then we can just go from there then." Hermione stated as the two continued to walk back to her flat.

XX

Two weeks had passed, and still nothing new. Hermione had more time to devote to finding something to alleviate the symptoms of vampirism, but there was nothing to get worked up over. While there were some differences between her blood and his, she still couldn't find one specific area to focus on that wouldn't lead up to a dead end.

Severus had gone so far as to bring a few bags of blood and left them in her fridge if he ever was in need of sustenance. The two had practically become roommates, with the exception that he never slept at her place. There were times when she would head off to bed, but he would stay up and do a bit more work. Over the last few days he thought that maybe focusing on blood replenishing potion would provide a clue as to what direction to go in, but it was a fruitless search.

He too growing rather frustrated, he stepped outside for a walk. His potions work was turning out to be a waste of both time and money. Hermione thought that maybe his anger would make him want to kill for blood, but she was too tired to care. Pushing aside her notes, she rested her head on the table. Not caring if the radio and the lights were still on, she just needed fifteen minutes to get her brain going again. Trying not to think of another avenue to go down, research wise, she only wanted the silence that came with a simple catnap.

15 minutes. She constantly told herself, as if her brain would automatically wake up after the time was up. I just need 15 minutes.

The 15 minutes easily became 40.

I wish that I had known in that first minute we met the un-payable debt that I owed you because you'd been abused by the bone that refused you, and you hired me to make up for that.

She was awakened, not aware of how long she was asleep at the table that was setup as a workstation. She could only open her eyes, but leave her head resting on her folded arms as she continued to listen to the soft piano tune being played followed by a voice that was almost muted coming from her radio. She inhaled the scent from her cashmere sweater, reluctant to rise up, but rather hoped to fall back into her sleep.

Closing her eyes, trying to fall back into the spell of sleep even if it cramped up her neck, she continued to listen to the song on the radio.

And walking in that room when you had tubes in your arms, those singing morphine alarms out of tune.

They kept you sleeping and even, and I didn't believe them when they called you a hurricane thunderclap.

When I was checking vitals, I suggested a smile. You didn't talk for a while; you were freezing.

You said you hated my tone; it made you feel so alone, so you told me I had to be leaving.

Their work had been daunting, yet she felt as if she were searching for horcruxes all over again. There was no clear answer, or direction to even go in, and while she wanted to just give up and go back to her studies, she knew that a drive she hadn't experienced in years had returned to her. She wanted to help out her former professor, and now research partner.

But something kept me standing by that hospital bed, I should have quit but instead I took care of you.

You made me sleep and uneven, and I didn't believe them when they told me there was no saving you.

It was then, when the drum came into the song that she decided to give up on falling back into slumber. She stood up, frustrated with the truth that the two of them were no closer to finding a cure than they were weeks before. Hermione knew research took time, years even, and still ended up fruitless, but she knew that their time would be limited. When she needed to brainstorm, she paced around the room, hoping that walking would somehow give her the epiphany that she needed.

Counting the various ingredients and methods the two of them worked with, she felt a burst of energy she hadn't felt in some time. Writing down different avenues to go down on the whiteboard, she figured that a process of elimination was the best way to go about things.

What she never noticed was that she was being watched in her frenzy. Her former professor watched as she removed her boots and socks and continued to write out arithimancy and chemistry formulas, hoping that something could be juxtaposed to benefit their work. He tried to pretend that he wasn't fascinated by the way she worked, but it was maniacally beautiful.

She pulled her hair back and clipped it into a bun, all the while, not noticing her former professor stare at the back of her neck as if it were a work of art. He silently slipped out of her flat and headed back to his own. Tomorrow would be a new day, and by the looks of her indecipherable handwriting on the board, she knew what she was doing.
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The Human Cure